Zelda & Chill

A Lofi Homage to Nintendo’s Zelda Series, Composed by Mikel & GameChops

Introduction

Nintendo’s Zelda series likely needs no introduction. In its fourth decade and one of the most successful adventure series in video games, Zelda is beloved for its sense of innovation.

The music of the games has often been at the core of establishing its identity and; at times; has played a key construct in the games’ development. The N64 batch of games adopted a core game mechanic where the ability to accurately play songs on an instrument called an ocarina triggered key plot events such as travelling through time. Perhaps due to this, many of the tracks here are from this period of Zelda’s history.

Songs for the Recovering Adventurers

Zelda & Chill is a love note to the iconic music produced by the Zelda developers. As a casual fan, I have enjoyed many of the games in the series and the album manages to prod the nostalgia sensor in my brain even after multiple playthroughs. But for those disinterested in video games, this album is great for drowning out the outside world and establishing the focus needed for deep work.

Let’s take a look at the audio feature analysis for this album. For a formal description of the audio feature categories presented here, please consult the Spotify Developer API Documentation.

Interpreting the Ridge Plot (Click to expand)

These ridge plots show a histogram of the mean audio feature values across each track in the album. Look across the horizontal axis at where the peaks for each feature occur. For example, if the album contains lots of tracks with busy vocals, the speechiness feature will show a peak to the right of the horizontal axis. Conversely, an instrumental album would have a speechiness peak to the left of the horizontal axis but you would also expect it to have a peak to the right of the axis in the instrumentalness feature.

I find it surprising that there is such a wide distribution in the valence of the songs. I expected the album to be distributed centrally as the pace and tone of the music is generally understated. But there are a couple of tracks that strike a more melancholy tone, such as Dark World and Gerudo Valley. At the other end of the scale, the Legend of Zelda theme is likely the most positive on offer, helping to explain why a broad distribution of valence is observed. The album’s speechiness and instrumentalness score as you’d expect. Danceability is notably high, potentially as a result of the crunchy drum & bass lines present in all the songs. Acousticness is generally low throughout the tracks though with a broad distribution that is potentially influenced by recurring use of piano and string sections. Perhaps the most interesting feature for this album is energy, which describes the album as distinctly middle-of-the-road in terms of intensity. As a chill album you’d likely expect a lower energy but the strong rhythm section likely lifts the distribution of this feature.

The Tracks

Below are the mean audio feature values for each track. The last row (green) presents a mean summary of the album.

track_name	danceability	energy	speechiness	acousticness	instrumentalness	valence
Fairy Fountain	0.6710000	0.5250000	0.0506000	0.4040000	0.924	0.2830000
Dark World	0.6700000	0.3380000	0.0569000	0.4400000	0.864	0.5620000
Lost Woods	0.7150000	0.5440000	0.0513000	0.0895000	0.935	0.9080000
Song of Storms	0.6750000	0.4580000	0.0305000	0.0181000	0.889	0.4790000
Minuet of Forest	0.7910000	0.4820000	0.0434000	0.1750000	0.857	0.6980000
Gerudo Valley	0.8430000	0.4340000	0.0844000	0.4400000	0.832	0.1670000
Oath to Order	0.7830000	0.4640000	0.1500000	0.7480000	0.805	0.2200000
Dragon Roost Island	0.7730000	0.2450000	0.0582000	0.2530000	0.932	0.5530000
Kakariko Village	0.7110000	0.4330000	0.1990000	0.4520000	0.905	0.6260000
Ballad of the Goddess	0.7590000	0.4100000	0.0595000	0.0061500	0.821	0.3540000
Breath of the Wild	0.5410000	0.4050000	0.0418000	0.0471000	0.840	0.0387000
Hateno Village	0.7600000	0.3470000	0.0337000	0.3430000	0.689	0.3940000
Legend of Zelda	0.5210000	0.6270000	0.0265000	0.2510000	0.847	0.7260000
Ocarina of Time	0.6440000	0.4870000	0.0419000	0.1540000	0.858	0.2450000
Album Mean	0.7040714	0.4427857	0.0662643	0.2729179	0.857	0.4466929

Fairy Fountain

64-bit nostalgia ahead. While the Fairy Fountain has offered sanctuary to any daring adventurer donning the guise of Link throughout the entire Zelda series, this theme is synonymous with the N64’s Ocarina of Time. This rendition is a wonderful, crunchy production over a stripped-back ragtime tempo. Warm feelings of safe havens are immediately conjured from the outset, with that iconic dreamy harp intro. A strong start to the album that sets the mood for what’s to come.

Dark world

For those Zelda fans who can identify with A Link to the Past, this track may hold more significance. I have not played that game and checking out the original track, I’d say this version seems like a marked improvement. There’s a fascinating contrast in this song - the meaty bass forms the perfect foil to the high pitch tubular bell-effect hook.

Lost Woods

Another one for the Ocarina of Time fans. A slower tempo than theoriginal, hence the “Relax” in the album title. There’s a curious reverb effect at play that sounds a bit like a harpsichord fed through a tin can. After listening to quite a bit of lofi I am on board with this, but I could see that it may be an acquired taste for some. Against the light and airy melody, the low-tech production works really well.

Song of Storms

Familiar to those wishing to summon rain in Ocarina of Time, this laid back rendition is mixed with a loop of the cooking theme from Breath of the Wild, replete with periodic pot whistles & cutlery clanking against china. The creative flair on show as the looped Song of Storms theme builds to a modest crescendo (it’s chill after all) makes this one of my album highlights.

Minuet of Forest

This song was originally used in Ocarina of Time to warp characters back to the start of the lost woods play area - one of the more challenging areas in the early game. The artists have expertly built on what was a very brief movement in the original material, adding a bouncy low-end bass while keeping the track structured with a snappy drum section.

Gerudo Valley

Another Ocarina of Time offering here. The original Gerudo Valley theme was played on Spanish guitar in a flamenco-style with a high tempo. This rendition is nearly unrecognisable and undoubtedly brilliant. How the artist has isolated the key movements and set them against the slow, chuffing rhythm is quite amazing. The song is one of the more melancholy tunes and while lower in mood is undoubtedly beautiful.

Oath to Order

This song originally appeared in Majora’s Mask and was used as a plot construct in that game - apparently to summon giants. I have little association with Majora’s Mask and having listened to it, I fail to identify the musical connection with the source material. Someone with a greater familiarity would potentially find more to identify with. As a standalone piece, Oath to Order is a very warm-sounding, fuzzy sensation with a warbly theremin effect permeating throughout for a unique twist.

Dragon Roost Island

It’s great to have a theme from the Windwaker on the album, which in my opinion is one of the best Zelda games and is often overlooked for its cute exterior. The original track was distinctly latin with Spanish guitar, maracas and a forlorn panpipe high in the mix. As in Gerudo Valley, the artists have slowed the pace while emphasising the main movement in the original source material. The guitars have been replaced with warm, fuzzy piano for a more relaxed atmosphere.

Kakariko Village

Kakariko Village has made recurring appearances throughout the Zelda series of games and I have struggled to identify which version of the series soundtracks this song takes its inspiration from. Though the melody is very distinct and the track is another of my album highlights. I presume it must be from one of the games I am less familiar with. A light and plucky lick against a bright and bouncy bassline, there’s plenty to appreciate here.

Ballad of the Goddess

Another recurring song in the later games within the Zelda series, I find it a very enjoyable rendition despite my lack of familiarity with the source material. The song seems to originate from Skyward Sword, building upon the melody using sweet harp strings and later a dramatic orchestral accompaniment. In this version, the artist has retained the harp but has worked with piano for the main melody.

Breath of the Wild

Taking its inspiration from the main theme of Breath of the Wild which perhaps lacks a distinctive identity in my opinion, this song starts with a promising loop of one of its more recognisable movements. However, mid-way through the song it introduces some distinctly discordant keys that introduce a sort of dilapidated fairground motif to the song. This is one that I tend to skip for those reasons - I find it hard to concentrate on my work with discordant sound in my ears. I view the track as an experiment and not in keeping with the rest of the album.

Hateno Village

Another Breath of the Wild arrangement, Hateno Village is notably home to the Ancient Tech Lab - an important site for acquiring gear upgrades as the game progresses. In this rendition of the theme, the artists have retained some deep bass strings although the main melody is now expertly played on piano. Again, I feel that the original material is not the strongest explored in this album, while the reimagining on offer here is perhaps more interesting than the source material.

Legend of Zelda

Maybe the most iconic video theme of all time. This mix pays homage to the series’ 8-bit roots by experimenting with a chiptune style that does a great job of not getting skipped while I work - chiptune can be fun but not generally for concentration. One of the more moving songs on offer, this track builds to a crescendo replete with choral and piano arrangements, leaving the listener with a distinct sense of grandeur capturing the scale of the video games.

Ocarina of Time

The theme from the original N64 Zelda title is a fitting end to this fantastic homage to perhaps one of the greatest video game adventure series. Kids of my generation will recall this iconic track as it accompanied the Ocarina of Time intro. The intro that blew the minds of a generation of Zelda fans who got to see Link in 3D and on horseback in an amazing open world like never before. Great times.

Highs and Lows

The Breath of the Wild track is not to my taste and on writing this review, I’ve realised that I consider the soundtrack for this game to be somewhat inferior to the older games. No hate to Breath of the Wild, which is a masterpiece in modern gaming, but perhaps the soundtrack is less of a focal point and potentially appealing to a broader and more mature audience than the older games in the series.

Standout tracks to my mind are Song of Storms, Kakariko Village and Legend of Zelda.

Overall

This album is a great choice for steadying the ship following a busy schedule. It establishes a quiet focus, allowing your brain’s operating system to reboot following a demanding presentation. I’d suggest this album as the first in a playlist dedicated to carving out an afternoon of focus time. Set your status to ‘do not disturb’ and eliminate your to-do list with the help of Link and his friends.

For more music to encourage your work efforts, check out Productivity Pulse.